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Histiocytes in nasopharyngeal carcinoma in relation to prognosis
Author(s) -
Nomori Hiroaki,
Watanabe Shaw,
Nakajima Takashi,
Shimosato Yukio,
Kameya Toru
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(19860101)57:1<100::aid-cncr2820570121>3.0.co;2-x
Subject(s) - histiocyte , infiltration (hvac) , pathology , medicine , nasopharyngeal carcinoma , immunohistochemistry , biopsy , carcinoma , lysozyme , biology , radiation therapy , physics , genetics , thermodynamics
Forty‐nine biopsy specimens of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and 20 biopsy specimens of nasopharyngeal mucosa obtained from non‐cancer patients were studied for the presence of T‐zone histiocytes (Langerhans' cells and their precursors) and macrophages by immunohistochemical methods with the use of antibodies against S‐100 protein and lysozyme (lys), respectively. Patients with dense infiltration of T‐zone histiocytes in the primary sites survived longer than those without such infiltration (mean survival times, 8, 39, and 72 months in the patients with the density of −, +, and +, respectively; P < 0.005). In contrast, there was no relationship between patient prognosis and density of lys + macrophages in the tumor tissue ( P = 0.33). The distribution of T‐zone histiocytes in the tumor tissue was different from that of macrophages. T‐zone histiocytes may play an important role in the immune reaction against cancer, probably acting through mechanism different from that of macrophages.